"Common Foot Ailments"

Fungus Toenails

Testimonials

REVIEWS OF DR. SCHULER

As a podiatrist, foot care doctor, foot specialist one of the most frequent condtions I see in my office in Panama City, Fl; and seen by most foot doctors are fungus toenails. A fungus is a tiny parasite plant-like organism that grows and spreads in dark warm moist places , that can infect the skin and the toenails and are very common in this part of Florida.

A fungus toenail infection is when the fungus literally has invaded the nail and has started to live off of it. The toenail is like a “Big Mac” to the fungus. It just loves it. . This can cause the toenail to abnormally thicken, loosen, swell, change color to yellow green or black, and finally become very painful. A fungus can also cause the corner of the toenail to grow in abnormally giving you an ingrown toenail. This foot problem must be aggressively dealt with or the fungus can spread to all of your other toe nails. The longer the infection is allowed to go unchecked, the more difficult it is to treat, and the more complication you have from it.

One of these complications is when the fungus toenail is allowed to become abnormally thick. This puts greater pressure on the top of the toe bone with the result that a bone spur forms on the very tip of the toe, making this a very painful foot problem especially in shoes and may require surgery to remove.
There are many non-surgical treatments for this foot problem that can give long-term relief by treating the underlying parasite infection. It may take several visits to the podiatrist office to cut out all of the fungus tissue, but it is painless and works. A word about the “New” wonder drugs for fungus infection, I do not use them because have many side effects, in fact the drug compamys recommended that you have your blood tested monthly for some of these drugs. The normal cost of treatment for fungus toenails using these drugs to treat these foot problems is at least $500.00, that is just crazy to me! Foot surgery should always be a last resort for fungus toenails, but if needed, it is done right in the podiatrist’s office.